Apple leaks new Logic Pro X Live Loops feature

This screenshot shows an as-yet unreleased version of Logic Pro X. Photo: Apple

Sometime before this past weekend, Apple posted a screenshot of what is presumably an upcoming new version of Logic Pro X, its pro music-creation app, onto its education page. It shows a brand new feature, previously only seen in the iOS version of GarageBand: Live Loops. Live Loops is a way to trigger music clips live, on-the-fly, so you can create music like a DJ.

And the Logic version looks great. And more importantly, it finally adds Apple’s take on the Session View from Logic’s biggest rival, Ableton Live.

The leak

Logic Pro X Live Loops

Like GarageBand’s Live Loops, the Logic Pro X version presents a grid of audio clips. You can drop in drum loops, music loops, and one-shot clips (a vocal sample, for example). Then, you trigger these clips by clicking on them (or tapping them, in GarageBand for iPad). All clips are launched so they play in time with the song, and you can record the performance, which adds those clips to a familiar timeline version of the song.

GarageBand’s Live Loops grid.Photo: Cult of Mac

You can load up pre-made clips, or you can record your own. And from the screenshot, you can see that Apple has also included the Live Loops remix/FX panel that lets you perform and record FX live.

On first glance, there are also some differences, as you’d expect. There’s a new section on the right, which appears to show linear versions of the selected clips, or perhaps a small preview of the recorded timeline view. You can also apply the live FX performance to individual tracks, not just the master output.

Ableton Live session view

This is a big deal for Logic Pro X. Rival DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) Ableton Live made its name in large part because of its clip-based Session View, which makes music creation more like jamming. It’s amazing for live use, but also as a composition tool. Now, according to this leaked image, we’re very likely to see Apple’s take on this essential tool.

I’m very excited by this. Ableton Live and Logic remain very different in terms of their workflow, their goals, and their price (Logic is absurdly cheap for what you get). But now, you’ll be able to get one of Ableton’s most essential features in Logic.

Given that there are already promotional screenshots ready to go, it seems that this update might come sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed.